pounding, and scurried to the pantry for the ginger ale. Busying herself with her search, she didn’t turn around when she heard the back door open . . . and close.
It could be anyone after all.
Footsteps came closer.
Shelley went up on tiptoes telling herself she was looking for ginger ale, but she couldn’t see a thing. Her entire body tensed as she recognized the sound of Raoul’s arrogant walk. He was coming after her. She smelled his cloying cologne as he opened the pantry door and stepped inside with her.
“My last day as a free man.” He paused.
Shelley couldn’t look at him.
Her sister was marrying this creep, but Maddie couldn’t seem to see how smarmy he was. Such a cliché with his slicked-back hair and gold nugget bracelet. Yes, he was handsome. Beyond handsome. And rich. He owned two car lots. One in Moonglow Cove, and the latest in Houston.
Was that what appealed to her sister? Good looks, money, power, status? Why couldn’t Madison see through it to the jackhole beneath? Then again, Shelley had secret information about Raoul she didn’t dare share with anyone because it would destroy someone she loved with all her heart and soul.
“This is your last chance.” Raoul flashed those straight, whiter-than-white teeth. “To kiss me.”
Shelley wanted to puke all over his polished Guccis. He closed the pantry door behind him, shutting them in together. They were alone, but people were outside on the lawn. She could scream, and they would come running, but it would be a case of “he said, she said” and she knew her sister. If Shelley claimed Raoul tried to kiss her, Maddie would say Shelley instigated it.
Shelley had to be honest. In the past, she’d done outrageous things to shift attention off her beautiful, successful older sister onto herself. The overlooked middle child.
Besides, there was the whole Mardi Gras thing and the secret Shelley must keep at all costs.
Raoul took the ginger ale from her hand and set it back on the shelf. Then he placed his hands on her shoulders and turned her to face him. Outside, she could hear conversations and the guitarist tuning up.
Inside, sweat pearled between her breasts and her heart raced and she thought, I’m taking too long coming back with the ginger ale. Maddie, in bridezilla mode, as she’d been the last few weeks, would certainly send someone after her.
That’s what she was counting on. That was her on-the-fly plan.
Shelley’s brain whirled. If she let Raoul kiss her, and they got caught, Maddie would have no choice but to call off the wedding and Shelley would never have to reveal the dark secret she carried.
Shelley would save her sister from making a terrible mistake. She’d be the hero for once. How appealing.
Raoul was the one who pulled her closer and lowered his head. He was the one who licked his lips and murmured her name.
But it was Shelley who went up on tiptoes and kissed him.
And she couldn’t have planned it any better.
Just as Raoul grabbed her by the hair, pulled her head back, and shoved his tongue down Shelley’s throat, Maddie threw open the pantry door, muttering, “If you want something done right, you’ve got to—”
Maddie let out a sharp cry.
Raoul jumped back, smoothing down his hair, and stammered, “Y-you-your sister kissed me.”
At the same time Shelley crowed triumphantly as if she’d done a good thing, as if she was expecting heaps of praise. “I told you Raoul was a lecherous asshole, now you have proof!”
But the only thing her impulsivity had done was break her sister’s heart.
Madison collapsed, sobbing her heart out. That’s when Shelley realized what a truly horrible thing she’d done, despite her best intentions. She’d never seen Maddie so defeated.
And she’d been running from herself ever since.
No more running. It was time to make full amends and put her family back together, no matter how much she had to grovel.
Chapter Twelve
Gia
BLOCK: A quilt design unit generally composed of multiple squares that are repeated and formed together to make a quilt top.
BY FIVE, THEY’D completed the kitchen floor demolition and just as they finished, Darynda showed up with soft tacos, queso, tortilla chips, and salsa from El Mercado at the far end of Moonglow Boulevard.
Mike stayed for dinner and they devoured the food, while Pyewacket, whom they’d managed to coax back downstairs, snacked on kibble at their feet underneath the sturdy picnic table.
Gia and Mike sat next to each other, giving each other surreptitious glances and coy smiles, playing